“大劫”将至 中国出现末日喧嚣
Doomsday Din Grows in China as Date Approaches
中国两个县的人都在纷纷为可能到来的世界末日做准备。
据中国国有媒体新华社报道，在网上有传言说从12月21日起将连续三天出现全天黑暗的现象后，四川省双流县和隆昌县的当地居民将商店里的蜡烛和火柴抢购一空。新华社的报道还说，这两个县的商贩还向人出售成套的应急物品和自救指南。
People in two Chinese counties aren't taking chances on the possibility of an impending apocalypse.
Local residents in Shuangliu and Longchang, two counties located in southwest China's Sichuan province, have almost cleared shops there of candles and matches after speculation spread online that there would be three straight days of darkness starting Dec. 21, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Vendors in both places are also selling supply packages and self-help manuals, according to the report.
这种恐慌性购买是由基于玛雅人古老历法的神秘传说引发的，这些传说称今年12月份世界末日将会到来。虽然包括美国国家航空航天局(NASA)专家在内的世界各地的许多科学家都批驳了这一说法，但中国似乎仍有许多人相信。
The panic buying was triggered by myths, based on the ancient Mayan calendar, that the end of the world will come this December. While many scientists around the world, including at NASA, have debunked the theory, China seems to have plenty of believers.
据新华社报道，中国江苏省的一名商人甚至建造了一系列与诺亚方舟有类似功效的密封应急救生舱，以供世界末日到来时逃生之用。这名叫杨宗福的商人以每个人民币100万至500万元的价格出售大型不锈钢球形避难舱。他称一名中国客户已从他这里购买了15个，还有来自新西兰的订单。记者无法证实他所说的销售情况。
A businessman from the east Chinese province of Jiangsu has even built a series of Noah's Ark-like apocalypse survival capsules, Xinhua reported. Yang Zongfu is selling large stainless-steel ball shelters for between 1 million and 5 million yuan. He claims one Chinese customer has already bought fifteen and that orders have come in from New Zealand. The sales couldn't be verified.
对世界末日即将到来的担忧还促使中国人采取了其他一些极端行动，包括结婚。新华社报道说，西安、合肥、广州和上海等城市结婚登记处12月21日那天办理结婚登记手续的预约名额已经满了。
Worries about the world coming to an end are driving the Chinese to other drastic measures, including getting married. Xinhua reported that marriage registry offices in Xi'an, Hefei, Guangzhou and Shanghai have already maxed out their quota for approving marriages on Dec. 21.
有人将中国人对2012世界末日传说的痴迷归咎于2009年上映的好莱坞大片《2012》，片中一个中国建造的方舟从这场全球性灾难中拯救了人类社会精英的生命。今年早些时候，就有人在淘宝网上卖中国版诺亚方舟的船票，以期利用人们对《2012》一片的情节可能应验的恐惧心理赚钱。
Some attribute the Chinese preoccupation with the 2012 doomsday myth to the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster '2012,' in which an ark built by China saves the elite of humanity from global disaster. Earlier this year, merchants were selling boarding passes for Zhuo Ming Gu Ark on e-commerce site Taobao.com, in an effort to cash in on fears that the film's plotline could end up being prophetic.
一些企业最近也采取了类似举动，他们到新浪微博上推销自己专门为当前这场世界末日喧嚣开发的商品。知名糖果生产企业阿尔卑斯(Alpen Liebe)在微博上说，如果转发它的微博，将向100名用户送上限量版的12月21日明信片，明信片将在诺亚方舟登船地西藏寄出。
In a similar move, a handful of businesses recently took to Sina Corp.'s Weibo microblogging site to make special offers tied to the doomsday din. Among them was popular candy brand Alpen Liebe, which offered 100 Weibo users a limited edition Dec. 21 postcard sent from the doomsday ark as it sails through Tibet , if they tweeted back or re-tweeted the offer.
可能令人奇怪的是，与中国在2011年曾出现的恐慌性购盐相比，四川发生的世界末日恐慌就显得相形见绌了。引发2011年那场恐慌的担忧更有几分合理性(虽然这种担忧最终仍被证明是没有根据的)，人们当时担心日本受地震损害的核反应堆泄漏出的放射性物质会漂流到中国。中国有关部门当时逮捕了一名31岁的网民，理由是他在网上散布有关食盐的谣言。他在网上发帖敦促人们囤积食盐，因为来自日本的放射性核物质已经污染了中国海岸附近的海面。一些中国人发现自己囤积的盐太多根本用不完后，他们甚至要求商家退还买盐款。
Surprising as it may be, the apocalypse panic in Sichuan pales in comparison to a salt-buying panic in 2011, triggered by more reasonable (though ultimately unfounded) fears over nuclear radiation spilling from Japan's quake-damaged reactors. Chinese authorities arrested a 31-year old Internet user for 'spreading salt rumors' via an online posting that urged people to stock up because radiation from Japan had polluted the sea off of China's coast. Some Chinese citizens even demand refunds for their salt after finding themselves with more than they could use.
四川双流和隆昌的居民是否计划在12月21日后退回他们所买的蜡烛，目前尚不得而知。这一次政府也没有以散布谣言的罪名逮捕什么人。
There's no word on whether residents in Shuangliu and Longchang plan to return their candles after Dec. 21. And, no arrests for spreading rumors have been made this time around.
从微博上看，许多网民对世界末日即将到来这种可能性持较为平静的态度，很多人利用这个机会表达自己对最亲密家人的感谢和感激之情。一位女性网民说：如果世界末日了，我要和我爸妈在一起，因为目前他们是我世界上最重要的人。
Weibo showed plenty of netizens taking a calmer approach to the possibility of the world's end, with many taking the opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation for their closest family. 'If the world ends, I want to me with my mum and dad, because they are the most important people in the world to me,' said one female tweeter.
WSJ
2012-12-17
WSJ
670次
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